Insulator-holder for electric railways



(No Model.)

B. JENNINGS.

INSULATOR HOLDER FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

No. 452,645. Patented May 19, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BYRON JENNINGS, OF SAN JOSE, ASSIGNOR OF ON E-HALF TO J AMESBRUSIE,

or OAKLAND,

CALIFORNIA.

lNSULATOR-HOLDER FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed November 5, 1890.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BYRON JENNINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jos, Santa Clara county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Insulator-Holders for Electric Railways; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a device which I term an insulator-holder,.and which is es pecially adapted for use in connection with the conducting-wires of electric railways.

It consists of a protecting hood or cap, a means for supporting the conducting-wire therefrom and providing an insulation between the two, and a means for supporting the hood or cap in an upright position when used upon curves, and in certain details of construction, all of which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through the hood or cap' the insulator, and suspending device, showing a part of the conducting wire and the means for supporting the hood or cap from the transverse wires. Fig. 2 shows the hood or cap with the yoke to hold the insulator by which it is suspended, the insulating devices within the hood or cap, and a hook by which a suspended insulator for the conductingwires may be attached. Fig. 3 shows an exteriorview of the hood or cap with a ing upon the top for the attachment of the supporting or steadying wire. Fig. 4 shows the application of the hood or cap with the brace-wires connected. Fig. 5 shows a construction of the hood or cap when applied to underground conducting-wires.

Great difficulty is experienced in maintaining a sufficiently perfect insulation of the current-conducting wires of electric railways and in protecting the insulated material from rainy or damp weather, which greatly deteriorates the insulatingqnalities and correspon dingly diminishes the effective current upon the wires.

In my device I have shown a bell-shaped head or cup A, having an opening or chamber extending into the body from the bottom of the interior of the bell, and a sleeve or collar B screws or is otherwise secured into this bell, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. W'ithin Patent No. 452,645, dated May 19,1891.

Serial No. 370,409. (No model.)

this sleeve is fitted the plug of wood or other insulating material C, which projects from the inner end so as to fill the inner part of the chamber, into the outer part of which the sleeve Bis secured. The outer portion of the opening in the sleeve B is slightly contracted, and the insulating material C is correspondingly shaped, so that the shoulder of the contracted portion holds the insulator firmly within the sleeve, and the sleeve beingscrewed into the bottom of the cup A it will be manifest that the insulator is firmly held in place. Through the center of this insulator is made a hole, into which the bolt D is fitted, and the inner end of the insulator is countersunk, so as to receivethe enlarged head Eof this bolt, which is thus firmly held in place. In Fig. 2 this head is shown in the form of a nut, and the inner end of the bolt D is screw-threaded, so as to screw into this nut, thus holding it firmly in place.

In the bottom of the depression which contains the insulator O is an insulating washer 7 F, which, lying between the head of the bolt D and the bottom of the chamber, insures a perfect insulation and prevents any communication between the bolt D and the metal of the cup A. An insulating-washer G surrounds the outer end of the bolt D and rests upon the outer face of the sleeve or collar B, and the conducting-wire is connected in an suitable or desirable manner with the bolt D. If a suspended insulator is employed for this conducting-wire, it will be connected with the bolt D by simply forming a hook II in the outer or projecting end of the bolt, andupon this hook the suspending device may be hung; but if the conducting-wire is to be rigidly connected with the boltD the latter is screwthreaded at its outer end and the bail I, to which the wire J is connected, has an enlarged boss or nut 1 formed at or near its center, so that it may be screwed directly upon the end of the bolt D and screwed firmly up against the insulating-washer G, and as the bolt D is insulated within the plug 0 and by the washerF it will be manifest that there can be no communication between the parts.

The inverted-cup-shaped head A extends downward over the insulator so far that no rain or moisture can come in contact with these parts, and the insulation will thus be maintained perfectly, the head being so close to and extending so far over the insulatoras to prevent the possibility of rain or snow driving in against the insulator.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the ears or lugs K formed upon the upper part of the body of the hood A, and these lugs have perforations to receive wires or attachments by which the insulators L are firmly secured between the lugs. The transverse wires M, by which the whole device is suspended at intervals along the line of the road, pass through holes made in the center of the insulators L, the insulation doubly thus being assured.

In turning corners it is necessary to hold the insulators by which the conducting-wires J are supported in such posi ion as to maintain them approximately above the line of the track as it passes around the curve. This is done by means of wires M, which extend from the insulators to poles set up on either side of the roadway and also extend between the insulators of the two parallel lines of wire where a double line of road is used. These wires are connected with the hoods A by means of arms or lugs O, which project out upon each side and have their ends perforated to receive the wires. On account of the tension upon the conducting-wires and the corresponding strain upon the wires M which hold them on acurved line the tendency of the insulators and cups A is to turn over and become more or less displaced. In order to overcome this I employ in these insulators and hoods which are used on the curved portions of the track a single npwardly-projecting lug P, which in these insulators takes the place of the lugs K, which are used on the straight portion of the road. This upwardlyprojeeting arm or lug I has a hole in the top and through this hole extends a wire Q.

In Fig. l I have shown two lines of conducting-wire J, one for each line of the parallel tracks, and the two holders A being connected by the wires M and also connected with the post upon each side, as before described, by similar wires. The steadyin g-wires Q, passing through the upper ends of the arms or lugs P, are carried to the wires M, where they are secured to insulators L, which are secured to the wires M, and are in all respects similar to the insulators shown at L in Fig. 1. As the wires M upon each side of the holders A extend slightly upward toward the posts to which they are attached, the wire Q extends through the lugs P in an approximately straight line until it intersects the wires M upon each side, Where it is connected with the insulators L, and by this construction the holders are steadied and prevented from tipping over without the use of supplemental wires.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the hood or holder A arranged especially for use in underground lines, where the conducting-wire must necessarily be supported from below. In this case the conducting-wire is connected with the upper part of the hood, passing through the groove or channel shown in the part I. The insulator G is contained in easing B, and the bolt D, secured within the insulator C, as previously described, screws into the inner part of the cup A, thus holding the casing B and the insulator firmly beneath the cup or hood. At one side of the casing B is the extension R, which serves for the connection of this hood and support with the usual supports within the tube or tunnel, through which the conducting-wire passes. This being fully shown in devices connected with this particular style of electric road, I have not further illustrated here, as it forms no part of this invention.

In the device as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the hood is cast with the insulator-holder, and in Fig. 5 it is shown as cast with the current-wire holder, but in each case the insulation and protection are the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I -claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An insulator-holder for the electric conducting-wires, consisting of a hood or inverted bell having an interior chamber, an insulator fitted into said chamber, a collar or sleeve surrounding the insulator and threaded into said hood, whereby said insulator is held in place, a bolt having one end fixed in the insulator and the other extending out through it, the insulatirig-washers F and G, the means forsupporting electric conductingwires from the insulator, and a means for supporting the insulator-holder and the wire, substantially as herein described.

2. An insulator-holder forelectric conducting-wires, consisting of an inverted cup or bell, a chamber in the interior of said cup containing the insulator, means by which the insulator is held in place, and means for suspending the eonduetingwire from said insulator, side lugs by which the insulator-holder is connected with posts upon opposite sides of the line, and upwardly-projecting lugs, a wire attached to said lugs and leading to the side wires or braces, the stead ying-wires, and insulators L, to which the stead yin g-wires are connected, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

EYRON JENNINGS.

\Vitnesse.:

S. H. NoURsE, II. 0. LEE. 

